Be cautious to avoid pressure
In reality, all 9 women's teams in the tournament have their own determination. However, no team has set a target of... winning the championship. Although in reality, the goal of winning the championship cup is something that all coaches have high expectations for their teams and players.
After four consecutive seasons of losing in the finals and being runners-up, this year, heading towards the second stage, the Duc Giang Lao Cai Chemicals team only set a modest target of being in the top 4 strongest teams. The team, invested by businessman Dao Huu Huyen, has made an important change before the second stage of the 2024 National Volleyball Championship by appointing experienced coach Pham Van Long as Head Coach.
Mr. Long said that his team is wary of all opponents. In the previous four seasons, when competing, Duc Giang Lao Cai Chemicals' goal was always to win the championship.
The current national champion LPB Ninh Binh is training in Thailand. The team's coaching staff said that the team's goal in the second phase is to strive for the best results. However, the goal of winning the championship is not set by this team.
The two women's teams VTV Binh Dien Long An and Binh Phuoc School of Information Corps are leading the rankings in terms of points. However, coach Thai Quang Lai said that VTV Binh Dien Long An players still have three important matches, so the immediate priority is to try to gain points in each match.
Waiting for foreign soldiers
Eight out of nine women's teams in the second phase of the 2024 National Volleyball Championship have hired foreign players. All foreign players are already in Vietnam. The recruitment of foreign players is nothing more than focusing on the task of achieving specific results in each match.
Most recently, the Vietinbank women's team had to adjust foreign player personnel due to Croatian player Katarina Pilepic's injury.
Coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet once shared that the team is preparing professionally with the current players to strive to compete in the remaining matches in Lao Cai. Although the professional world understands that having to replace foreign players is something that Mr. Kiet and the Vietinbank team are not comfortable with.
After two consecutive "empty-handed" seasons at the National Volleyball Championship (2022, 2023), the Information Corps is determined in this year's season. The team has hired a 1m98-tall main striker, Jana Kulan. The Azerbaijani star is considered to have a professional level superior to her teammate Polina Rahimova who has shown in Vietnam, so the female army team is completely confident in finding decisive points for themselves in Lao Cai.
It is no coincidence that the former national champion team Geleximco Thai Binh had to hire foreign players in the second phase of the tournament.
Coach Tran Van Giap said that Russian player Svetlana Sukhoverkhova is a suitable addition to the team and the players are determined to compete hard to avoid relegation. Svetlana Sukhoverkhova was playing in Belarus before coming to Vietnam.
LPB Ninh Binh did not hire foreign players en masse like previous years, but instead put their trust in the hitter Warisara Seetaloed. Coach Thai Thanh Tung of the team understands that the fact that Warisara Seetaloed has played with LPB Ninh Binh players in many recent tournaments (including the 2024 Asian Women's Club Championship) is an advantage for the team because the player is familiar with Vietnamese volleyball and coordinates well with her teammates.
The common denominator of Vietnamese women's volleyball teams hiring foreign players is to solve immediate results.
